Latest Law Enforcement Headlines

All the headlines from our Law Enforcement Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Topeka, Kansas, to Settle 2016 Police Crash Lawsuit for $335K

Mar 16 2021 // The city of Topeka, Kansas, has settled a lawsuit over a 2016 crash involving a police cruiser that left two people injured, according to a city official. The city has agreed to pay $335,000 to settle the case, Topeka City...

Nashville Looks to Settle Fatal Police Officer Shooting for $2.3M

Mar 11 2021 // Nashville officials are seeking a $2.25 million settlement with the family of a Black man who was fatally shot by a white Nashville police officer from behind during a 2018 foot chase, Mayor John Cooper’s...

Report: Bias ‘Deeply Entrenched’ in North Carolina Police Force

Mar 5 2021 // Racial bias is “deeply entrenched” within a North Carolina police department where officers feel comfortable making blatantly racist comments, according to findings of a study released last month.The report on...

Oregon City Paid Ex-Police Officer $250K to Settle Lawsuit

Mar 2 2021 // An officer who made headlines for excessive use of force allegations and a whistleblower lawsuit resigned from the Springfield Police Department at the end of 2020.Ryan Stone and City Manager Nancy Newton signed a...

Police Arrest 11 in Atlanta Area Pharmacy Burglaries

Feb 18 2021 // Police have arrested nearly a dozen people who police say are believed to have been connected to multiple pharmacy burglaries in the Atlanta area.DeKalb County police arrested 11 people after a tracking device in a pill...

$4.5M Settlement Offered in Police Shooting of Alton Sterling in Louisiana

Feb 17 2021 // After a $5 million proposed settlement fell through, officials in a Louisiana parish are now offering $4.5 million to settle the civil lawsuit brought by the family of Alton Sterling, a Black man who was killed in 2016 by...

Fire at Indian Firecracker Factory Kills at Least 12, Police Report

Feb 16 2021 // At least 12 people were killed in a fire at a firecracker factory in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu last Friday, police said.Raja Narayanan, a regional police official, said an investigation was under way into...

Mother of Virginia Police Informant Seeks $13M in Lawsuit

Feb 10 2021 // The mother of a dead Virginia police informant is alleging in a pair of lawsuits that authorities are responsible for her son’s fatal overdose on opiates that he was coerced to purchase while undercover.Donna Watson,...

New Mexico Lawmakers Propose Cap on Damages in Police Accountability Bill

Feb 9 2021 // A bill that would strip police officers of immunity from civil rights lawsuits in state court is being rewritten to cap potential damage awards at $2 million, in a concession to critics who warned of dire financial...

Vermont Police Say Snowmobile Fire Ignites Covered Bridge

Feb 9 2021 // A fire that started in a snowmobile spread to a 111-year-old covered bridge, collapsing the structure into the Missisquoi River in the town of Troy, police said.The fire was reported around 11 a.m. Saturday after a group...

Colorado Law on Police Officer Liability Being Tested by Notorious Video Incident

Feb 1 2021 // A new Colorado law allowing individual police officers to be sued will soon get a big test.Four Black girls who were mistakenly detained by Colorado police at gunpoint over a suspected stolen car filed a civil lawsuit...

Mayor Calls for ‘Transformation’ of Louisville Police Dept. After Sweeping Report

Feb 1 2021 // The Louisville Metro Police Department needs more diversity among its leadership and must work to improve trust with the community, especially among Black residents, a consulting firm said in a sweeping report of the...

Lawsuit Holds Police in Oregon City Negligent in Man’s Death

Feb 1 2021 // The sister of an Oregon man who died of asphyxiation in a Eugene police car after wrapping a seatbelt around his neck has filed a $9 million wrongful death suit against the city and police department.The federal civil...

Former Washington Police Chief Getting $125K Settlement

Jan 13 2021 // A former Washington state police chief who was fired last year is expected to collect a $125,000 settlement.Michael Campos was fired in May as Wapato police chief with cause after an internal investigation found evidence...

Kentucky Police Officer Fights Termination Over Breonna Taylor Killing

Jan 4 2021 // At least one Kentucky police officer connected to the fatal shooting of a Black woman, Breonna Taylor, is fighting a police move to terminate his employment.An attorney for Louisville Metro Police detective Joshua Jaynes...

Iowa Police Chief Sues Law Enforcement Academy Over Toxic Gas Leak in 2018

Dec 17 2020 // A police chief is suing the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy for injuries he suffered from a 2018 carbon monoxide leak that exposed dozens of recruits to unsafe levels of the toxic gas.Justin Lyman, police chief in the...

Louisville Approves Police Oversight Board to Investigate Complaints, Killings

Dec 7 2020 // Officials in Kentucky’s largest city have approved the formation of a police oversight board.The Louisville Metro Council voted last month on the ordinance that will create the 11-member Civilian Review and...

Road Rage Lawsuit Has Implications for Police Shootings: Opinion

Nov 25 2020 // Can you be fired from a government job for using a firearm in self-defense? That question arose in a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The answer was … equivocal.Let’s first...

Oregon Man Arrested After Tesla Crashes, Sends Batteries Flying

Nov 23 2020 // An Oregon man crashed a Tesla while going about 100 mph, destroying the vehicle, a power pole and starting a fire when some of the hundreds of batteries from the vehicle broke windows and landed in residences, police said....

Vallejo $750K to End Lawsuit Over Police Beating

Nov 23 2020 // A handyman who was left bloodied after he was beaten and choked by Vallejo police will receive $750,000 from the city, it was announced Friday.The San Francisco Bay Area city agreed Thursday to settle a civil rights...